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“I love that dress on you,” Hayden Panettiere tells Connie Britton. “You look beautiful,” Britton replies, smoothing a lock of Panettiere’s hair. From the mutual admiration on display at PARADE’s photo shoot, you’d never know these two play bitter rivals on the ABC series Nashville (Oct. 10, 10 p.m. ET), set in the world of country music. In this Star Is Born–esque saga, Britton plays Rayna Jaymes, whose Queen of Nashville crown is being knocked sideways by slumping music sales and the rise of a pop country upstart named Juliette Barnes—who’s popular even with Rayna’s own kids. Panettiere plays Barnes, who is as talented as she is ambitious but who’s trying to keep a lid on her deeply ­troubled family life.

“The music industry looks at them in very different ways,” says Britton, 45, who’s thankful she hasn’t had Rayna’s career arc. (Her Emmy nominations in the past three years, for Friday Night Lights and American Horror Story, prove just the opposite.) “I want to make sure we don’t imply that the minute a ­woman turns 40 the business leaves her behind, because that’s certainly not my experience. But there is a difference in perspective on the kind of stars these two women are, and that’s really authentic.”

For her part, Panettiere, 23, says that playing a “snotty, disrespectful” starlet is both a stretch (“It would be mortifying if anyone thought that was me in any way”) and a blessing. “I’m not going to lie—after Heroes, it was an uphill battle to be seen as anything besides the sweet, all-American cheerleader,” she says. “A ­project like this that allows me to both sing and act is a dream come true.”

The two stars, who perform songs written by Lee Brice, Elvis Costello, and others, were put through the kind of musical paces normally reserved for American Idol contestants. Britton worked first with a vocal coach, then with renowned record producer T-Bone Burnett (husband of Nashville creator Callie Khouri) for four hours daily. “I’ve said ‘What did I sign myself up for?’ just about every day,” she says with a laugh. “The first time people had to hear me sing, I was absolutely about to vomit.” Panettiere flirted with a pop career in her teens but admits she’s ­“always had very bad stage fright”; she studied entertainers like Carrie Underwood and relied on a choreographer to get her moves Grand Ole Opry–ready.

Depicting Music City accurately was a major focus for Khouri (an Oscar winner for herThelma & Louise screenplay). “I don’t know if the world understands how much of a [convergence] point Nashville is,” she says. “There are so many different types of music and people there. It’s a magical place.” The city, where the show is being filmed, is looking forward to its network close-up. “It’s injected millions into the economy,” says Mayor Karl Dean. “There is also an excitement and energy from having the ­actors here.” ­Britton relocated with her two dogs and 19-month-old adopted son, Eyob, a move she describes as “challenging. But I felt we had no choice but to shoot in Nashville.” Those who know the city well may glimpse some locals in the bands, as well as musicians like J. D. Souther, who plays a country legend named Watty White.

While the series’ setup pits veteran against ingenue, the drama soon expands beyond that: Love triangles brew, a sinister father machinates, a marriage is tested, sympathies realign. “We’ve seen a lot of female relationships done wrong,” says Britton. “Our goal is to do it right.”